The final straw

[coopswfc76]

17 minutes ago, rickygoo said:

And what about people who do have experience of running businesses - and investigating the affairs and plans of others? 

 

Go on then explain to us how you have experience of running multi million pound businesses.

Is appointing a CEO a good move I'll ask?

[ronior]

Excellent post. I agree with every word.

[steveger]

This place is going batshitcrazy 

Edited January 2, 2018 by steveger

[@owlstalk]

4 minutes ago, steveger said:

This place is going batshitcrazy 

You need to explain why otherwise you're just gonna look like some old geezer staggering round shouting at bus stops and buildings

 

[Daz]

20 minutes ago, SiJ said:

We wanted a strong CEO, not an incompetent one. 

 

He's seemingly appointed the latter. 

 

Well she comes with a lot of baggage - hard for anyone to deny that, so it's a bold and somewhat surprising choice.

 

Time will tell if her stewardship here will be regarded as being incompetent, although the Charlton fans are pretty clear on it based on their experience. Let's hope we have a different outcome, otherwise DC will rightly carry the can for it.

[steveger]

2 minutes ago, @owlstalk said:

You need to explain why otherwise you're just gonna look like some old geezer staggering round shouting at bus stops and buildings

 

I also shout at fire engines and bin lorries, kick a pigeon now and again, life can be brutal In Mexborough.......

[@owlstalk]

Just now, steveger said:

I also shout at fire engines and bin lorries, kick a pigeon now and again, life can be brutal In Mexborough.......

Ah.... You're from MEXBOROUGH.....

Please accept my apologies mate

I didn't realise....

I'm so sorry for your situation
 

 

[Big Ron's Sovereign]

Just now, @owlstalk said:

Ah.... You're from MEXBOROUGH.....

Please accept my apologies mate

I didn't realise....

I'm so sorry for your situation
 

 

 

Discuss the post not the poster  

[@owlstalk]

Just now, Big Ron's Sovereign said:

 

Discuss the post not the poster  

 

 

Good spot and you're right

 

 

[steveger]

1 minute ago, @owlstalk said:

Ah.... You're from MEXBOROUGH.....

Please accept my apologies mate

I didn't realise....

I'm so sorry for your situation
 

 

 I get professional counselling twice a week for it where i'm allowed to run as fast as i can and headbutt cushioned walls, it's ever so fun until the blood nips my eyes 

[@owlstalk]

Just now, steveger said:

 I get professional counselling twice a week for it where i'm allowed to run as fast as i can and headbutt cushioned walls, it's ever so fun until the blood nips my eyes 

 

 

[edmontonowl]

7 minutes ago, Daz said:

 

Well she comes with a lot of baggage - hard for anyone to deny that, so it's a bold and somewhat surprising choice.

 

Time will tell if her stewardship here will be regarded as being incompetent, although the Charlton fans are pretty clear on it based on their experience. Let's hope we have a different outcome, otherwise DC will rightly carry the can for it.

 

Sorry Daz, you got me in stitches with that.

 

What woman doesn't have too much baggage, ask any airport porter

 

And then

 

Mr. C's going to carry the can.............he'll be used to it given the family business

 

 

Long day, here, sorry

 

[33]

So fans can only comment on how well the club is being run if they have experience of running multi-million Pound businesses?

[edmontonowl]

5 minutes ago, steveger said:

 I get professional counselling twice a week for it where i'm allowed to run as fast as i can and headbutt cushioned walls, it's ever so fun until the blood nips my eyes 

 

 

Figured this for a long time

[ash60s]

DC gave us the hope of a new better era, so far its been a false dawn particularly how this proud club's

150th anniversary was a shambles both on and off the pitch.

 

What's worrying me is that he's really divided the fan base, can't give a view/opinion without some kind of vitriol coming back

 

I sincerely hope we aren't heading back to the bad old days(again) but there's bigger problems in life 

 

HNY all Owls - things will pick up but it will be a busy summer for the club 4 sure - this season  a write off but roll on next August 

[Blue and white]

4 hours ago, KivoOwl said:

First thread in a long while, and I don't apologise for it being a long one. I stopped posting because I've got a very thin skin and get too easily hurt by criticism and abuse that came my way over the last couple of years - not posting has done me good but I am seriously worried for the club we all love so need to get this off my chest. If you think I'm being a smug attention-seeker, so be it. I don't think my opinion is worth more than anyone else's.

 

Not going to talk too much about the football as it's already been covered - in the summer of 2016 we all knew that we needed to sign 4 or 5 key players who would push us on to promotion - but in the 18 months since then all we've done is replace one set of back-up players with another set of back-up players - and at great expense. You need 2 good players for each position and we haven't, so an injury crisis has exposed our recruitment policy for the utter shambles it is. We're in a relegation battle, and we'll only stay up if the likes of Hutchinson, Hooper and Lee can retain their fitness.

 

But that's only scratching the surface of what is wrong at the club.

 

Since he took over as chairman, Dejphon Chansiri claims he has invested over £150m into the club, and I think his financial input has blinded many to the appalling decisions he has made. The first season seems to have been a case of 'if you throw enough money at something, you'll do alright'. Sadly, money alone isn't enough.

 

Alarm bells rang when he decided to hike ticket prices up to among the highest in the country. He claimed this was needed to lessen the impact of FFP worries, yet the extra £3m per year we are gaining from the changes (£150 extra for 20,000 season ticket holders - POTG revenue in freefall) has been a drop in the ocean compared to the overall transfer outlay. Still, he got more and more frustrated with questioning about it at fans forums - to the point where talking about ticket prices became a taboo subject. So now we just accept that the prices are what they are and you either pay them or you don't.

 

Next, he changed key components of the club's identity. The club badge was changed to one chose by the chairman, and then the striped shirts were ditched because he liked plain shirts, and then the squad numbers were changed on his say-so. But as long as we were doing alright on the pitch, it didn't matter. "How is our playing record affected by a change of badge? How is a full-back wearing number 9 detrimental to the cause? We've ditched stripes before so it's ok" Nobody dared ask "If these changes are so irrelevant, why make them in the first place". As long as we're winning, who cares about history and tradition?

 

Then his name was plastered on the North Stand, to replace the SWFC lettering. "It's obvious why he's done it - to alleviate FFP concerns" Does that really mean he had to put his own name on there? Did he have to put his own name on this year's anniversary season tickets alongside legends such as Crawshaw, Spiksley, Wilson, Waddle et al? How many Wednesdayites would think of doing that? I'll not talk about the scare stories we've all heard about how he conducts his business. Although I trust the different people that have told me worrying tales about Chansiri, I accept that without concrete evidence many will say it is at best rumour, and at worst some kind of agenda that I have, and I don't want to get into the sort of trouble that has befallen other Owlstalkers many years ago.

 

It is incredible, but the most worrying part of today, as a Wednesdayite, wasn't the utter humiliation we saw on the pitch.

 

Chansiri admitted on his first day that he knew little about football or football business, and his appointment of Adam Pearson and Glenn Roeder in advisory roles gave us optimism that he was willing to engage the services of people that could help. Pearson was gone with two weeks, Roeder soon after. They were never replaced, and we eventually began an association with Doyen Sports, who just happened to be the agent of the team manager, and Joe Palmer came in as Chief Operating Officer.

 

For the best part of 18 months we have needed someone to bridge the gap between chairman and manager, and someone to help improve our commercial arm. In the Wednesday family alone, we have Milan Mandaric, Lee Strafford and Howard Wilkinson among many who would jump at the chance to help the club. Brian Laws, Terry Burton, Chris Waddle, John Pearson, Alan Smith, Jon Newsome - all would give their right arm to give Chansiri help in areas where we need it. Then think about those without ties to Wednesday who could do just as adequate a job. The key attribute anyone needed to have was an understanding of the English game, and the relationship between club and supporter. Without that understanding (and Chansiri hasn't got it), you're up bobbar creek.

 

Instead, Chansiri has today appointed Katrien Meire as CEO - “I have said for some time that I would only appoint a CEO should the right person fit my specification to lead the structure of Sheffield Wednesday on a day to day basis."

Meire is one of the most despised figures at any Football League club, having been a key figure at Charlton Athletic during their catastrophic fall from grace. Quotes from Meire  -

 

• "I shouldn't say this but I don't care about the history of the club"
• ".................they do it with a football club and that's very weird because they feel a sense of ownership of a football club...."
• "fans don't see themselves as customers"
• "We have done no planning for a relegation"
• "Our ranking improved after each of the five managerial changes"

 

Personally, I think she'll put her foot in her mouth like she did at Charlton and end up being the new club scapegoat, just as Roeder (recruitment) and Palmer (kits) were. Chansiri will maintain his nice-guy reputation and escape the brunt of the criticism. Even I still think he's a good guy at heart, with good intentions, but being a nice guy didn't help Carlos Carvalhal, and it shouldn't mask the job Chansiri has done so far.

 

The list of baffling decisions and mistakes he has made has grown year on year, yet many still claim that he is learning on the job and that he'll learn from the experience. That might have been an acceptable response after six months, twelve months, even a couple of years. Claiming naivety after three years isn't good enough. I think he's been taken for a ride by many differing parties and hasn't learned from it one iota. Good businessman learn fast. Trawling the footballing world for a CEO and opting for Katrien Meire is the final straw for me - in the past I've been skeptical while holding hope he could change his ways - now I simply think he's unfit to run a football club, or any business, of this size. His next appointment will be our new manager - who believes he will make the right choice?

He has said himself that he has spent £150m on this football club - and what does he have to show for it? How can he look at his track record so far and think his tenure has been anything but an abject failure? He has had more than enough time, spent more than enough money, and made more than enough decisions to have made a positive impact on this club, but after all this time we are looking in far worse shape on the pitch than we were under Milan Mandaric and Stuart Gray, which is a damning indictment given our financial position back then.

 

It is time for him to go, and it won't be easy. He claims he had spent £150m, so any prospective buyer would have to pay at least that, which ain't gonna happen. And that's not the biggest problem, because I think Chansiri remains 100% committed to the club and will refuse to budge. I've no idea how we go about escaping the Chansiri era, but while we keep giving him a round of applause as he walks through the club shop, and while we keep our 'Thank You Chansiri' banners around the ground, we won't get anywhere.

Post of the year. Welcome back kivo you have been missed.

[torryowl]

1 minute ago, ash60s said:

DC gave us the hope of a new better era, so far its been a false dawn particularly how this proud club's

150th anniversary was a shambles both on and off the pitch.

 

What's worrying me is that he's really divided the fan base, can't give a view/opinion without some kind of vitriol coming back

 

I sincerely hope we aren't heading back to the bad old days(again) but there's bigger problems in life 

 

HNY all Owls - things will pick up but it will be a busy summer for the club 4 sure - this season  a write off but roll on next August 

it as been a better era ...we've had the best 2 seasons for 18 years and ok this ones not gone as planned but for all the knee jerks we'll finish mid table 

[Dick_Turpin]

42 minutes ago, coopswfc76 said:

 

Go on then explain to us how you have experience of running multi million pound businesses.

Is appointing a CEO a good move I'll ask?

I don’t have to show you my CV. What is DC’s like? No-one seems to know.

 

This new CEO doesn’t seem to be an experienced businessperson. She’s a lawyer with 4 years experience at a football club that hasn’t exactly prospered under her control. I do have experience of failing businesses and often to use a football analogy they are guilty of taking their eye off the ball.  Of not looking at the fundamentals.

 

Some of the basics at Hillsborough have been shambolic. The shop, corporate issues, the 150th celebrations and the kit for example were all things that are relatively straightforward for the right people to sort. They’ve been dealt with less than competently, to be kind.  They smack of a place run as a personal fiefdom, a vanity project.. That’s echoed in personal preference overruling tradition in other areas. The pitch was a necessary investment and a good one. The big telly I can do without. Better training facilities are always welcomed. 

 

Running a football club is tricky because of the sporting aspect of it. It isn’t like a normal business when you’re just shifting units. There’s a finite number of points to be earned. But I think we are where we are - and struggling against FFP if the ludicrous Club 1867 scheme is anything to go by, maybe the most crackpot idea in football this century - because of a failure to establish a clear vision of what the team needed. That would be aided by a sensible business and footballing structure that looked something like DC’s original plan.

 

I thought his initial idea to surround himself with experts was a good one. But that unravelled quickly and instead we’ve seen glaring inefficiencies in the team - the heart of the issue - not addressed. I think we finished in a position that flattered us last season and CC was lucky not to be sacked sooner. I favoured giving him more time, subject to reverting to a more expansive game. In retrospect the Preston debacle was hugely significant.  He had no intention of doing so.

 

If the chairman has bought hugely expensive players to please us then he is worse than foolish. If his head has been swayed by outsiders who don’t have the best interests of Sheffield Wednesday as their main motivation then he has been incompetent.  Chucking money at it isn’t enough on its own. It has to be done wisely. 

 

Chansiri’s vision of football - and the one that looks like it’s espoused by his new CEO - isn’t one I share. I simply don’t buy his the club is in his blood rhetoric and the family BS. Each to their own but if we end up in a relegation battle and fall foul of FFP it could hardly be claimed to have been a roaring success in its own terms never mind from my more nostalgic viewpoint.

 

As for the new CEO. Yes we needed one. Picking one loathed by the fans of her previous club seems an odd route to go down. Who knows what his motivations are - but as someone who has been slagged off on here for years for daring to doubt him it won’t surprise you that I am not expecting her to change her spots and be both a huge success and one that will nurture this club’s traditions and its relationship with its fan, not customer, base. But there’s nothing we can do about it. 

Edited January 2, 2018 by rickygoo

[Costello 77]

47 minutes ago, Sgt Wednesday said:

Mr Chansiri will make mistakes but I would much rather have him, than not.

 

We are having our first bad spell, we will have more, we need to stop acting like spoilt little brats and man up a bit.

Or go on a good footy forum and say things as you see them?

 

Ffsx7©®™

Edited January 2, 2018 by Costello 77
Worever

[coopswfc76]

13 minutes ago, rickygoo said:

I don’t have to show you my CV. What is DC’s like? No-one seems to know.

 

This new CEO doesn’t seem to be an experienced businessperson. She’s a lawyer with 4 years experience at a football club that hasn’t exactly prospered under her control. I do have experience of failing businesses and often to use a football analogy they are guilty of taking their eye off the ball.  Of not looking at the fundamentals.

 

Some of the basics at Hillsborough have been shambolic. The shop, corporate issues, the 150th celebrations and the kit for example were all things that are relatively straightforward for the right people to sort. They’ve been dealt with less than competently, to be kind.  They smack of a place run as a personal fiefdom, a vanity project.. That’s echoed in personal preference overruling tradition in other areas. The pitch was a necessary investment and a good one. The big telly I can do without. Better training facilities are always welcomed. 

 

Running a football club is tricky because of the sporting aspect of it. It isn’t like a normal business when you’re just shifting units. There’s a finite number of points to be earned. But I think we are where we are - and struggling against FFP if the ludicrous Club 1867 scheme is anything to go by, maybe the most crackpot idea in football this century - because of a failure to establish a clear vision of what the team needed. That would be aided by a sensible business and footballing structure that looked something like DC’s original plan.

 

I thought his initial idea to surround himself with experts was a good one. But that unravelled quickly and instead we’ve seen glaring inefficiencies in the team - the heart of the issue - not addressed. I think we finished in a position that flattered us last season and CC was lucky not to be sacked sooner. I favoured giving him more time, subject to reverting to a more expansive game. In retrospect the Preston debacle was hugely significant.  He had no intention of doing so.

 

If the chairman has bought hugely expensive players to please us then he is worse than foolish. If his head has been swayed by outsiders who don’t have the best interests of Sheffield Wednesday as their main motivation then he has been incompetent.  Chucking money at it isn’t enough on its own. It has to be done wisely. 

 

Chansiri’s vision of football - and the one that looks like it’s espoused by his new CEO - isn’t one I share. I simply don’t buy his the club is in his blood rhetoric and the family BS. Each to their own but if we end up in a relegation battle and fall foul of FFP it could hardly be claimed to have been a roaring success in its own terms never mind from my more nostalgic viewpoint.

 

As for the new CEO. Yes we needed one. Picking one loathed by the fans of her previous club seems an odd route to go down. Who knows what his motivations are - but as someone who has been slagged off on here for years for daring to doubt him it won’t surprise you that I am not expecting her to change her spots and be both a huge success and one that will nurture this club’s traditions and its relationship with its fan, not customer, base. But there’s nothing we can do about it. 

 

Regarding failing businesses we aren't ever going down that route as in fairness before DC it was going to be mid table obscurity with odd relegation battle and who knows we might have got relegated again at some stage but MM definitely didn't have the cash or contacts for promotion in the modern era much as I loved him as a chairman.

Worse that happens under DC is we have had 2 relatively successful seasons and now were back to square 1.

 

Regarding the CEO maybe he brought her in to be a hard nosed business person as he had made mistakes to try and please/placate the fans in the past and as you say that shouldn't be happening(Although that won't stop fans moaning about it) also perhaps he misjudged his customer Base regarding corporate packages if so good luck to her and agree shop etc needs sorting but unless your a fat poopydoo like me it's not as bad as people on here make out but could be a lot better.